The Croatia Rally is an international rallying event based in the cities of Zagreb and Rijeka, Croatia. Held since 1974, Croatia Rally is the longest running motorsport event in Southeast Europe. It joined the World Rally Championship calendar in its 2021 championship. The event is organised by Automobile Clubs D.T. Motorsport and Cro Dakar Team with the support of Croatian Car and Karting Federation and was a round of the European Rally Championship from 2007 until 2013. The event was known in the past as Delta Rally and Croatia Delta Rally. Initially a tarmac and gravel mixed course, it has been a fully tarmac rally since at least the late 1980s.
History
The very first Croatia Rally was held in 1974, under the name INA Delta TLX Rally. It took only three years to grow from a regional race into a national championship event of former Yugoslavia. From the very beginning, the main characteristic of the rally was the extremely long itineraries, which passed through Gorski Kotar, Lika, Primorje and Continental Croatia until the mid-1980s.
The first international recognition that the race experienced was in 1986, when it entered the FIA calendar. That same year, special stages located at Žumberak, Plešivica, Zagrebačka gora and Hrvatsko Zagorje were driven by the crews from Austria, Germany, Czechoslovakia. It was the beginning of the project with the goal of entering the European Championship. Again, in 1986, first nomination towards the FIA was sent. But, the race had to wait for the European pedigree for six years.
Despite the ongoing Croatian War of Independence, Delta Rally had become recognized internationally and was growing rapidly. Good organization has brought it a coefficient 10 by the year 1995, and a year later the organizer nominated it under the name Croatia Rally for the highest coefficient of the contemporary European Championship – 20. It took even eleven years until the prestigious series in Croatia.
In late 2006 FIA has reported that the European Championship (ERC) will spread. 34. Croatia Rally 2007. has entered the calendar as a third out of ten ERC events. The first ERC Croatia Rally was won by the domestic crew Juraj Šebalj and Toni Klinc in Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX. The remaining two rallies held in Zagreb and its surroundings were won by foreign competitors – Italians Corrado Fontana and Renzo Casazza, along with Bulgarians Krum Donchev and Peter Yordanov.
After three successfully organized ERC events in Zagreb, the economic recession has caused the relocation of the race to Rijeka. In 2010, Croatia Rally was organized by the Automotive Association of Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, and in the next two years by local AC MRC. Special stages were held in Gorski Kotar, Učka, Ćićarija, Istria, and particularly attractive was Super special stage at Opatija Circuit.
In 2013, Croatia Rally moved again. This time to Istria and the town of Poreč, which is the host and co-organizer of the event. The rally was organized by the Croatian Car and Karting Federation and the special stages were driven at Učka, Ćićarija and in the triangle of the cities of Buzet, Motovun and Pazin.
The most wins in the history of Croatia Rally were achieved by Slovenians, driver Branislav Kuzmič and co-driver Rudi Šali, each with five victories. They are followed by the Croatian crew Juraj Šebalj - Toni Klinc with four victories and Croatian driver Tihomir Filipović and his co-driver Davor Devunić, with three victories each.
WRC
On October 10, 2020, FIA World Motorsport Council has confirmed Croatia Rally as a new round of the World Rally Championship. The country is set to become the thirty-fourth nation to stage a championship round in the WRC. FIA President Jean Todt congratulated Croatian Automobile & Karting Federation president Davorin Štetner and pointed out that successful including in the 2021 calendar was possible thanks to support of Mayor of Zagreb and Croatian Government. The dates for Croatia Rally 2021 were from April 22 until April 25. Rally Headquarters, start and finish podium will be in Zagreb and itinerary will pass through Karlovac County, Zagreb County and Krapina-Zagorje County. The surface of Special Stages is tarmac.
The idea of bringing WRC to Croatia was born by Daniel Šaškin in 2013 while Croatia Rally was part of the European Rally Championship. Lobbying for the WRC in Croatia began in 2015 thanks to Zrinko Gregurek, Secretary General of CCKF at the time, as well as a member of World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) since 2009. From 2015 to 2020, Gregurek lobbied very strongly and continuously, at the end successfully, for the award of WRC to Croatia.
After Jean Tod's visit to Zagreb in July 2020, during the next WMSC meeting held in October, the decision on Croatia's inclusion in the FIA WRC Calendar 2021 was adopted. Immediately after the end of the WMSC meeting, Gregurek sent this notice to the Croatian Car and Karting Federation.
List of winners
Sourced in part from: YearWinnerCar Delta Rally 1974 Tomislav Markt BMW 1600 1975 Aleksandar Mačešić Datsun 1200 1976 Berislav Modric Fiat 128 SC 1977 Aleš Pušnik Renault 5 1978 Aleš Pušnik Renault 5 1979 Borko Skurić Opel Kadett GT/E 1980 Leon Poberaj Zastava 101 1981 Leon Poberaj Zastava 101 1982 Borko Skurić Opel Kadett GT/E 1983 Brane Kuzmič Renault 5 Turbo 1984 Brane Kuzmič Renault 5 Turbo 1985 Brane Kuzmič Renault 5 Turbo 1986 Romana Zrnec Renault 11 Turbo 1987 Brane Kuzmič Renault 5 GT Turbo 1988 Brane Kuzmič Renault 5 GT Turbo 1989 Tihomir Filipović Lancia Delta HF Integrale 1990 Tihomir Filipović Lancia Delta HF Integrale 1991 Tihomir Filipović Lancia Delta HF Integrale 1992 Žarko Šepetavc Lancia Delta HF Integrale 1993 Raimund Baumschlager Ford Escort RS Cosworth 1994 Niko Pulić Lancia Delta HF Integrale 1995 Niko Pulić Lancia Delta HF Integrale Croatia Delta Rally 1996 Kurt Göttlicher Ford Escort RS Cosworth 1997 David Pattison Ford Escort RS Cosworth 1998 Enrico Bertone Toyota Celica GT-Four 1999 Enrico Bertone Renault Mégane Maxi 2000 Bert de Jong Subaru Impreza WRC 2001 Krum Donchev Peugeot 306 Maxi 2002 Leszek Kuzaj Toyota Corolla WRC 2003 Václav Pech Jr. Ford Focus RS WRC 2004 Juraj Šebalj Subaru Impreza WRX STi 2005 Juraj Šebalj Citroën C2 S1600 2006 Václav Pech Jr. Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 2007 Juraj Šebalj Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 2008 Corrado Fontana Fiat Abarth Grande Punto S2000 Croatia Rally 2009 Krum Donchev Peugeot 207 S2000 2010 Luca Rossetti Fiat Abarth Grande Punto S2000 2011 Luca Rossetti Fiat Abarth Grande Punto S2000 2012 Juho Hänninen Škoda Fabia S2000 2013 Jan Kopecký Škoda Fabia S2000 2014 Juraj Šebalj Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX 2015 Murat Bostanci Ford Fiesta R5 2016 Vlastimil Majerčak Ford Fiesta R5 2017 David Botka Škoda Fabia R5 2018–2020 Not held World Rally Championship 2021 Sébastien Ogier Toyota Yaris WRC 2022 Kalle Rovanperä Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 2023 Elfyn Evans Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 2024 Sébastien Ogier Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 European Rally Championship 2025 Jon Armstrong Ford Fiesta Rally2 World Rally Championship2026Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
References
External links Croatia Rally